Admiral of the FleetGeorge Byng, 1st Viscount Torrington, KB, PC (27 January 1663 – 17 January 1733), of Southill Park in Bedfordshire, was a Royal Navy officer and statesman. While still a lieutenant, he delivered a letter from various captains to Prince William of Orange, who had just landed at Torbay, assuring the Prince of the captains' support; the Prince gave Byng a response which ultimately led to the Royal Navy switching allegiance to the Prince and the Glorious Revolution of November 1688.
Byng was sent to the Mediterranean to thwart any attempt by the Spanish to take Sicily. He encountered the Spanish fleet at Naples and, after pursuing it down the Strait of Messina, sent ahead his fastest ships causing the Spanish fleet to split in two. In the ensuing action, known as the Battle of Cape Passaro, the Spanish fleet was devastated: 10 ships of the line were captured, four ships of the line sunk or burnt and four frigates were captured at this early and critical stage of the War of the Quadruple Alliance. He went on to be First Lord of the Admiralty during the reign of King George II.
In October 1688 Byng, still a lieutenant, delivered a letter from various captains to Prince William of Orange, who had just landed at Torbay, assuring the Prince of the captains' support; the Prince gave Byng a response which ultimately led to the Royal Navy switching allegiance to the Prince and the Glorious Revolution of November 1688.[2] Promoted to captain on 22 December 1688, he was given command of the fourth-rate HMS Constant Warwick before transferring to the command of the third-rate HMS Hope in May 1690 in which he saw action at the Battle of Beachy Head in July 1690 during the Nine Years' War. He transferred to the command of the second-rateHMS Duchess in September 1690 and to the third-rate HMS Royal Oak in January 1691 before becoming Flag Captain to Admiral Edward Russell in the first-rateHMS Britannia in December 1693.[2]
Byng became Commander-in-Chief, Portsmouth, with his flag in the first-rate HMS Royal Anne, in late 1705 and then took part in the bombardment of Alicante in June 1706. After taking part in the British defeat at the Battle of Toulon in July 1707 and, while sailing aboard his flagship HMS Royal Anne, Byng was present during the great naval disaster off the Isles of Scilly in October 1707 when Shovell and four of his ships were lost, claiming the lives of nearly 2,000 sailors.[5]
Promoted to full admiral on 26 January 1708, Byng became Commander-in-Chief of the Mediterranean Fleet in January 1709[6] and went on to join the Board of Admiralty led by the Earl of Orford in November 1709.[7] Byng was advanced to Senior Naval Lord on the Admiralty Board in October 1710.[8] He stood down from the Admiralty Board in January 1714 but was reappointed, as Senior Naval Lord again, on Orford's return to the Admiralty in October 1714.[7]
Byng took part in the suppression of the Jacobite rising by cutting off the Old Pretender's supplies in 1715 and for this he was created a baronet on 15 November 1715. In 1717 he was commanding the British fleet in the Baltic with full cooperation from Denmark's admiral Peter Raben.[9]
He was promoted to Admiral of the Fleet on 14 March 1718 and, with his flag in the second-rate HMS Barfleur, he was sent out as Commander-in-Chief of the Mediterranean Fleet[10] to thwart any attempt by the Spanish to gain or to consolidate their position in Sicily. He encountered the Spanish fleet at Naples and, after pursuing it down the Strait of Messina, sent ahead his fastest ships causing the Spanish fleet to split in two.[11] In the ensuing action on 11 August 1718, known as the Battle of Cape Passaro, the Spanish fleet was devastated: 10 ships of the line were captured, 4 ships of the line sunk or burnt and 4 frigates were captured at this early and critical stage of the War of the Quadruple Alliance.[12]
Byng was married at St Paul's, Covent Garden, on 6 March 1691 to Margaret Master, daughter of James Master of East Langdon in Kent.[20] Together the couple had fifteen children (eleven sons and four daughters) of whom six lived to survive him:[21][22]
Pattee Byng (1699–1747), 2nd Viscount Torrington, died without surviving progeny.
Byng died on 17 January 1733 and was eventually buried in a vault within the newly constructed Byng Mausoleum attached to the north side of the Church of All Saints in the parish of Southill, Bedfordshire,[23] in which parish was situated his residence of Southill Park. The mausoleum was constructed for his burial, with licence granted by the Bishop of Lincoln in 1733.[24]
References
Citations
^G. E. Cokayne; with Vicary Gibbs, H.A. Doubleday, Geoffrey H. White, Duncan Warr and Lord Howard de Walden, editors, The Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom, Extant, Extinct or Dormant, Gloucester, U.K.: Alan Sutton Publishing, 2000), volume XII/1, page 789